The Baker and the Spaniard
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: Disney's "The Princess and the Frog", Total Drama style. After a run-in with a voodoo master, visiting prince Alejandro has suddenly become a frog. When he mistakes ambitious Heather for a princess, she ends up just like him. Now they need to find the witch doctor of the bayou, and as they journey together, their relationship may become more than an alliance...Aleheather & Tylsay.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: People have been telling me that since I'm doing Disney TD-style, I should write Aleheather. But I had to search pretty far to find a Disney couple who fit the bill with these two. Well, someone suggested "The Princess and the Frog", so that's where this one comes in!**

 **Plot: Heather dreams of being a millionaire one day, but for now, she's a waitress trying her hardest to save everything she can to achieve her dream. At the same time, Alejandro, a prince from Europe, has lost his inheritance and is desperate to get back the money, and when a dark voodoo master promises wealth in his future, a frog is in his place. And the only way to turn him back is to kiss a princess...**

 _In the 1920s, things were rough. But even almost a century later, things were still rough, whether you're a young woman trying to raise money to start a conquest of a continent, or a young prince who needs to slow down and remember that charm isn't the only key to success._

 _Heather, a girl from a modest family, and Lindsay, a rich girl whose sixteenth birthday party cost more than a year's rent on an apartment, had grown up together. Heather had spent her life being envious of Lindsay's family's wealth, and to be honest, didn't like the bubbly blonde all that much. But Lindsay was unwaveringly friendly and loyal to Heather, and took it seriously when the dark-haired girl daydreamed about being a millionaire. When they were little girls, Lindsay would say "We should adopt you!"_

 _But at the age of eighteen, their lives were very different. Lindsay would be going on to a university where her parents were paying for her, despite it probably being useless. Heather, though she had the brains to do well in any college, was working two waitress jobs, getting only three hours between each one (although one was closed on weekends). Her family didn't have the cash to support her, and all the money she didn't use on rent, food, taxes or clothes was saved. It was dispirited, almost soul-destroying, but she was determined to reach her dream._

"Another day, another eighteen hours of serving zombies." Heather muttered as she headed out of her rundown apartment to get to her first waitressing/baking job at five am. To be honest, the greasy spoon cafe she served at during the night was worse (although she wouldn't have to go back to that job until Monday – it was now Saturday), but she'd rather be buying a mini strawberry tart than serving/baking hundreds at the French-style cafe she served at every day. But she had to. She had to reach her dream, no matter how many people told her she worked too hard, or that she'd never be able to do it.

Today, though, had one difference. About an hour after Heather had started serving, Lindsay burst in, in a fever of excitement. "Eeee! Omigosh, omigosh Heather, you'll never ever guess what Daddy got for my eighteenth?"

"A brain?" Her sarcastic friend muttered.

Lindsay ignored the insult. "My birthday present is to literally be a princess for the whole day! Can you believe it? And I even get a prince visiting that whole time! He's staying with us for the next three days! We have a masquerade ball for when he arrives tonight!" She gave a squeal.

This got Heather's attention. "Prince? What?"

"From Europe!" Lindsay exclaimed, showing Heather the newspaper, which showed a picture of a rather handsome young man with a great smile, amazing deep green eyes and caramel skin. "So I get to see him for the next three days that he's here! Isn't he hot?" the blonde gushed.

Heather looked at the headlines. "He's called Alejandro? Linds, are you even going to remember how to pronounce that? I mean, seriously. You can't even remember two-syllable names!"

Lindsay wasn't listening. "Anyway, Heather, I was going to ask if you wanted to cater tonight's ball! I mean, when you bake here, it's heaven! So, please, please?"

Now this caught Heather's attention properly. Her grey eyes gleamed. "For how much?"

"It's a lot to do." Lindsay said. "Like, a _lot._ So what about...five hundred thousand? Plus expenses with whatever you need to buy to make everything!"

"Really?" Heather's eyes widened. With that money, she could move into a nicer apartment, find a job in a more profitable part of town, even get closer to achieving her millionaire dream. She nodded, even giving Lindsay a brief hug in gratitude. "I'll be there."

She had to work even harder than usual to keep up with orders that day, but in the middle of it, she was planning. Not what to use the money for, not yet – how she was going to be able to bake enough for a huge ball in time. After her job finished, she would only have five hours to get it all done and ready to take to Lindsay's mansion.

Nevertheless, as she started mixing, whisking, folding, and baking, she started getting an idea. Maybe she could invest in a bakery of her own. She was good at it, quick, and if the baked goods she made that night were a success, than maybe, just maybe, her goal would be reachable. Now that would be a more profitable job – advertising, running her own business. If someone like Lindsay could keep coming back for her food, than who's to say a lot of the upper-class people wouldn't?

In fact, Heather made the deposit on little place in a line of shops that same day, being able to get out of the apartment for half an hour while some of her many creations were baking. Sure, it was a tiny place, and she'd have to buy more ovens, but it had an upstairs apartment...not much better than the one she was in now, but a new business that also included a place to live? Well, it could work.

"Climb the ladder to success." The dark-haired girl muttered to herself. "I'm almost there."

The men who owned the building originally obviously didn't believe in Heather's grandiose plans, but once she'd given them the rest of the money after the first deposit, the place was hers "Unless a higher bid comes along before the end of next week, when we sell once and for all".

Whatever. Heather didn't care about what everyone said. She was going to get to her goal. It was just a matter of time.

 **Sorry this chapter was so short! I couldn't think of anything to write left. Mainly because I wanted to wait to introduce Alejandro. He will be there in the next chapter.**

 **And as usual for the Disney movies, send in your favourite Aleheather moment. Mine has to be the scene in the cargo hold, when Alejandro traces the side of Heather's face and she almost smiles.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I promised Alejandro. Also, you may find the "Lawrence" character a strange choice, but I wanted to give a nod to the Tylsay fans. Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, StarHeart Specials, deleteaccount, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer.**

"Sire! Sire!"

The young man tripped once again. "Oh no!" He picked himself back up. Sure, it was supposed to be his job to make sure Alejandro didn't start acting irresponsible, but it wasn't like he could stop anything. Besides, Alejandro did exactly as he was expected when it mattered. But when there was nothing important for him to do, the young prince wouldn't stay put. He preferred to flirt with anyone who was around.

In fact, this time, his friend/manservant/guide found him chatting up a cute blonde who was blushing and smiling. "Um...I kind of...have a boyfriend..." she said weakly.

"'Kind of'?" Alejandro replied, staring deep into her light green eyes, a trick that never failed. "That doesn't sound very certain."

The girl blushed even more, but before Alejandro could say anything more, he heard the voice speak up behind him.

"Al!"

The prince's eye twitched as he heard the name he hated, but he smiled at the man who was accompanying him, pretending not to mind. "Tyler! I was wondering where you got to." he lied – he knew Tyler was klutzy and wouldn't be able to keep up with him. He put a light arm around the girl's shoulders. "I was just meeting a few of the locals, and I was lucky enough to run into one of the nicest."

"Alejandro, I thought we talked about this on the way here!" Tyler hissed. "Stop flirting with so many girls and breaking their hearts! I heard her saying that she had a boyfriend."

By the time he'd stopped talking, the girl had disappeared, still flushed pink but with a faint look of relief (that she wouldn't be tempted to cheat) and regret (that she wouldn't get the chance to).

"Tyler, I don't plan on breaking anyone's heart." Alejandro said, his voice confident and smooth. "It's just a bit of harmless flirting. I can't take responsibility for girls who take it too seriously."

Tyler didn't press the point, although he knew that it was a lot more than that. It wasn't just Alejandro's looks that made the girls stare. He was always friendly, charming and when he flirted, it was in a way that even a lesbian would start acting flirty. It was a trait of his family, really, but when he was on his own in a place like this, now that was when it became a problem.

But all Tyler said was "You do realize that living the high life is going to be a problem, now that you've had your finances cut off? You are going to have to get a job when you go back."

"I'm sure that will not be a problem." Alejandro answered. Sure, his parents weren't going to pay for him to do nothing any more, and he wasn't eligible to take his father's place unless his brothers passed away, since he was the youngest of three, but how hard could finding a job be?

As he passed a rundown old building that a girl was coming out of, he automatically shot a smile at her. The girl, however, just rolled her eyes and ignored it. Tyler snickered silently.

Alejandro saw the amused look on his manservant's face, and twitched in annoyance, but pretended not to notice. However, he began walking faster, so Tyler failed to catch up. So fast, in fact, that he didn't notice the foot sticking out of the alleyway, and stumbled over it, although he didn't fall.

"Oh, so sorry. I didn't realize anyone was coming!"

The voice speaking was dark and demonic, even frightening. But Alejandro didn't register that as he looked at the speaker – a spiky-haired young man, possibly younger than him.

"Oh, wait..." the man coughed and said in a light cheerful tone "Sorry, I know I sounded a bit dark. I was just working with a client of mine who wanted a séance, and that's the way I talk to the spirits. Forgot to clear my throat then."

Alejandro's green eyes lit up in interest. "Your job sounds most interesting."

The man held out a hand. "My name's Mike. A lot of people around here know me as the Malevolent One, though." he laughed, shaking Alejandro's hand. "It's just a joke among the locals, because I dabble in voodoo. I assure you, I'm a lot more benevolent than anything." He paused, just as Tyler finally caught up. It took a moment until Mike added in the demonic voice "I can hear the voodoo spirits. They say I am in the presence of visiting royals." He swapped back to his old tone and then said "Ah yes, I did hear about the European prince! Alejandro, isn't it?"

Alejandro didn't believe in the voodoo he was talking about, but he didn't let on. "Very good." he said. He gestured to his companion. "And this is Tyler."

Mike, speaking again in the lighter voice, said "I can tell what you're thinking. You think I'm just one of those scammers, one of those con artists. Why don't you come in and I tell your fortune, free of charge? Who knows, I may be able to change it for the better, too."

Alejandro paused, thinking about it. Tyler nudged him. "Should we?" he whispered. "It might be fun, if it's free."

So Alejandro agreed. "All right. Thank you."

Mike led them into a dark marquee, full of strange shadows and voodoo puppets. It looked as if his shadow wasn't moving with him, but doing its own thing.

Mike settled behind a table with cards on it, and motioned the two men to sit opposite. "Who shall we do first?" he asked in his demonic tone. "You?" he pointed at Alejandro, and then began to shuffle the cards. Finally, he picked them out.

"You are from across the sea, you love the high life." he mused. "But you've lost your funds. Parents cut you off?"

Alejandro shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find another source of income."

"Like marrying a rich girl?" Mike suggested. "Yes, it's the green you need. And that's what I see in your future."

Alejandro nodded, a slight smile on his lips. He hoped it was true.

Mike turned to Tyler. "I see. You've been pushed around all your life – a servant, a clumsy guy, unable to show the greatness inside. But very soon, that's coming up. You will soon be the man you wanted to be."

Finally, Mike turned to both men. "Please, men, won't you shake hands with me once again?"

And one by one, Alejandro and Tyler shook his hand, and that was when strange things began to happen. Alejandro felt a painful sensation in his right ring finger as a voodoo necklace filled up with red liquid, and then it was draped around Tyler. While he grew taller, broader, darker, Alejandro stared at his own transformation in horror.

Green, he thought, was money. He didn't expect himself to become something small and green.

And Mike began laughing demonically. Not that it was his real name. No, Mike was just a cover. He truly was the Malevolent One, or, as his spirits on the other side referred to him, simply Mal.

 **Kudos to whoever thought Mal should be Dr Facilier. It worked better than I thought, what with his cover disguise. This took ages to get done, so I hope you like it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**All right! Night of the party! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Bloodylilcorpse, Glowing Insanity, Bubhh and the guest reviewers.**

Heather was very depressed as she stood next to the food she'd made for Lindsay's party that night, serving people.

"Is he here yet?" the blonde squeaked. "The party's been going for an hour, and he still hasn't arrived."  
"Chill." Heather said in a bored tone. "He's supposed to arrive, like, now, right?"

Lindsay started crying. "I don't think he's coming at all! What have I done wrong? Did I not wish hard enough? Why hasn't he arrived?"

"Lindsay, your mascara's running." Heather pointed out, scowling. "He isn't going to want you if you look lke a panda."

And as she spoke, a handsome figure appeared at the gates. Lindsay instantly became distracted, her eyes fixed on him. She quickly dried her eyes, checked her mascara, and moved towards the new arrival.

The man went straight to her. "I presume you are the hostess?" he said softly. "You are even more beautiful than I imagined."

Lindsay smiled up at him. "And you are my prince?"

And they began to dance, just as the men Heather had bought her new property from went to speak to her. "Heather," one of them said, "A higher bid came in for your place. I'm afraid you will lose your deposit."

Heather scowled, but on the inside, she was horrified. So close! "Can't I bid any higher?" she asked desperately.

"You've got three days." the man told her. "Get the money before then, or you lose the place." She had until midnight, the day after Lindsay's birthday.

Heather was so shocked, that when she walked away, she wasn't looking where she was going. She walked straight into her table of baked goods, and ended up toppling the display, getting flour and custard all over her clothes.

Lindsay saw it first. She made some excuse to the prince and hurried over. "Heather!" she exclaimed in concern. "What happened? Listen, I'll lend you some of my clothes. Don't worry about the catering – you just have fun, like the rest of us, all right?"

Although Heather resented her friend most of the time, she had to admit that one thing she liked about Lindsay was her generosity. Within five minutes, she was up in Lindsay's bedroom. She had discarded her stained clothes for a floor-length silvery gown that fell in soft folds and matched her eyes. She even wore a matching tiara, and the colour complemented her dark hair and tall, slim figure.

"OMG, you look gorgeous!" Lindsay exclaimed. "Come down when you're ready, okay? I better get back to my prince!" She squealed excitedly and rushed off.

Heather took a moment, going out onto Lindsay's balcony and stared up at the sky. "Wishing." she muttered bitterly. "It never works. I wished every night to rule something, and now it gets snatched away before I even get started? Why me?"

At that moment, she noticed a flash of green on the rail. She gasped, realizing it was a frog.

Then she gave a sigh. "Oh, look who it is. A frog. Guess you're looking for a kiss to become a prince, too."

"A kiss? Well, it wasn't what I expected, but from a lovely woman like you-"

The frog didn't get to finish his sentence, as Heather screamed and backed away.

"I'm sorry!" the frog exclaimed. "I didn't mean to scare you like that, I just reacted-" He had to duck as Heather started throwing things at him, anything she could find – mostly fluffy soft toys that were lying on Lindsay's bed.

The frog managed to hop onto Lindsay's dresser, but at that moment, Heather held up a heavy book. "Get out of here or I'll smash you with this!" she threatened.

"Please, give me a chance to explain." The frog said. "I'm not really a frog. I am the visiting Prince-" Heather dropped the book on him. Luckily, he'd foreseen the reaction and only got a clip on the webbed toe.

Meanwhile, Heather realized what he'd just said. "Wait? You're the prince? Alejandro, isn't it?"

The frog nodded. And now Heather noticed, she realized that the frog had a slight Spanish accent.

"But if you're the prince," she challenged fiercely, "Who was that guy that was dancing with Lindsay?"

Alejandro shrugged. "All I know is one moment I'm a prince, able to live however I want, and the next, this is what I look like." He paused, looking at the book Heather had tried to kill him with. He opened it. "Wait a second! I know this story. The Frog Prince, isn't it? That's the answer to this!"

Heather stared at him. "Wait, wait. Back up. A fairy tale is going to solve your problems?"

"I'm a prince turned into a frog." Alejandro pointed out. "If anything is going to change me back, it would be a kiss from a princess. Just one."

Heather knew where this was going. "Excuse me? What makes you think I'd do it?"

"No woman has refused my kiss before." Alejandro said, adding a teasing "Besides, you asked me on the balcony, didn't you?"

"And did I think you were going to answer?"

"Please, _chica._ If our positions were reversed, you can be assured I would do the same for you." He paused, and added "If you wish for an incentive, I can give you one. My family is wealthy. I could offer you a reward. Some cash, if you require it."

Heather paused. She really didn't want to kiss this frog, even if he turned out to be a prince. Something about him just made her angry. She wasn't sure what it was. But she needed money desperately.

"Just one kiss?" she said carefully.

"Of course." Alejandro said. "Unless..."  
"Don't even go there!" Heather scowled. "I won't want to go any further than that. One kiss, and we're done, okay?"

Alejandro let a smirk play on his lips. "You know, you're beautiful when you're annoyed."

"Ugh!" Heather glared at him, and then did it quickly. One peck on the lips, and it was over. Heather got her money and lived happily ever after...

Wait, no, that's not what happened.

Heather found herself lost in a mass of silvery material. And when she found her way out of it, she came face to face with a hand mirror on the floor.

And screamed. For the form staring back at her wasn't the slim, dark-haired girl that she'd come to recognize, but a tiny, grass green amphibian.

 **Well, that's the second chapter that I ended with a transformation, but finally, we'll get to meet a few more people in the next few chapters.**

 **Also, guys, just a quick request: I've just done a _6teen_ fic called "Cloning The Mind". Would you mind checking it out?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Let's keep going! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Bloodylilcorpse, PhoenixWillowsRox88 and the guest reviewer.**

Tyler had a lot of thoughts on his mind as he twirled the richest girl in town around the dance floor. After the transformation had taken place, Mal had partially revealed his plans. Tyler would wear the talisman which had Alejandro's blood in it – for as long as the blood lasted, Tyler would appear to be him. Once he married Lindsay while still in disguise, he would be next in line to have control of the town. And that meant he could give Mal the control the voodoo master craved. He was in debt to his spirits, and he needed to give them more souls of the town. And connections to Lindsay's family was the the key.

Tyler didn't know all of that, but he knew one thing. For his disguise to work for the whole three days, they'd need to refill the talisman at least once before Lindsay's birthday, where he was planning to ask her to double her time as a true princess with her wedding day. It would work – Lindsay's big dream was to marry her Prince Charming.

And that was the other thing Tyler was thinking about. He really wanted that control – he wanted his moment in the sun. But now that he'd actually met Lindsay, another thought was taking over. The blonde was not only beautiful, but she was sweet and kind, and her laugh was musical. He liked to make her smile, and she was clearly in bliss just to dance with him at that moment. Now, he wanted Lindsay more than he wanted his time to shine.

Lindsay glanced around for a moment before looking back into those green eyes that had once been brown. She was wondering what had happened to Heather. Little did she realize the answer was back up in her bedroom.

Once Heather had discovered what the kiss had really done, she really lost it. "Thanks a lot!" she scowled at Alejandro. "Look what you did! Oh yeah, a kiss is going to break your curse! This isn't a fairytale!"

"Please, calm down!" Alejandro pleaded. "I'm no happier about this than you are. We have to do something to find a way to get ourselves back to normal."

"And how do you propose we do that, genius?" Heather snapped irritably. "Because your last plan worked _so_ well."

"The first thing we need to do is get out of this place." Alejandro said reasonably. "Maybe we should find some way to talk to the host?"

Heather gave a sigh. "She's scared of frogs." she said straight out. "Besides, how does that get us turned back to normal?"

"Well, I haven't worked that out just yet!" Alejandro said, trying to keep his temper in check. To be fair, he was pretty good at keeping composure, so the only indication was a slight eye-twitch. "As I said, our first thing to do is get out of here."

There was only one word to explain how they managed to get out of the party unscathed: INSANE. As Heather had guessed, Lindsay just screamed at the sight of the two frogs. She would never have given them the chance to talk to her. As if that wasn't enough, they ended up grabbing a couple of helium balloons and floating away, just to stop them from getting caught. Lindsay set her dog on them, and Heather had yelled at it. But the thing was...it had spoken. She had understood it – the dog had said her name when she'd screamed for him to let them go.

"What was with that?" she wondered, even an hour later, when the balloon wouldn't go any higher but still floated further away from the town.

"It's because we are animals, just like them." Alejandro suggested. "We can probably communicate with both animals and humans at the moment."

"Oh, that's a wonderful trade-off for being human." Heather snapped sarcastically. "Why were you working with someone into voodoo, anyway? You know, people get themselves killed. And now that you've gotten me involved. I'm going to lose the first step towards everything I want – after all my work!"

"Work?" Alejandro looked at her inquisitively. "Back up. I thought you were a princess."

"Why did you think..." Heather began, and then she remembered the outfit she'd been wearing. "Oh, great." she laughed humourlessly. "Of course I'm not a princess! I wish I was – that would make things easier. I was wearing one of Lindsay's dresses for a costume party! Didn't you notice – she was dressed like a princess, too! I was actually the caterer – I work as a waitress!"  
Alejandro stopped trying to keep his temper in check. "You're not a princess? Well, no wonder the kiss didn't work." he said irritably. He scowled. "Well, it doesn't matter, because I wouldn't have been able to give you the money I promised. My family is wealthy, but they cut me off. I'm broke!"

If they had been on the ground, Heather would have stamped her foot. "Ugh! I can't believe you!"

"Well, it won't be a lie for long." Alejandro said in a confident tone. "Once I'm back to normal, I will be able to get a source of income."  
"And then will you give me the money you said you would?" Heather asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry," Alejandro said insincerely, "But I made that promise to a princess, not a waitress. I can't just throw money at anyone for no reason."

"Well, you might as well know that you're a hopeless kisser." Heather snapped. "I'm surprised I didn't barf."

That was exactly the right thing to say if she wanted to tick him off. She was exaggerating, anyway. Since Alejandro was a frog, the kiss was never going to be enjoyable, but in reality, it was nowhere near as disgusting as Heather had expected.

He didn't reply to her insult, and they kept hovering in silence.

It started raining after a few hours, and then it happened. Lightning flashed, and the balloon was popped. The two frogs screamed as they hurtled down, down, down...

They landed in the mud next to the bayou, just on the outskirts of the town. However, even though Heather had lived there all her life, she'd never gone to the bayou, mainly because there were...

"Well, I never! Two lovely little froggies!" The voice came from an alligator, who was clearly a female, and spoke with a hick accent.

"Hey, don't take those both, Sugar!" said another alligator, this one with a very fierce tone to her voice. "Leave one of them for me."

"I saw them first, Steph! They're mine!"

Alejandro spoke up first, stepping a little bit in front of Heather, almost protectively. "Friends, no need to argue over my companion and I." he said charmingly. "If you could just point us in the way of the town, we can just be on our way-"

"As if!" Sugar cried obnoxiously. "You're ours!" But before she could open her jaws, Heather had acted quickly. There was a low hollow up in a tree. If they jumped, they could make it, but it was too small for the gators to get even the narrowest part of their snouts in. She leapt into it within seconds.

"Losers!" Heather taunted the alligators. Alejandro followed her, and she didn't tell him to get out, even though she was dying to. She knew that at this point, there was no reason why they should argue when their lives were at stake. Their biggest objective was to become human.

 **Good for you, Heather, putting differences aside for now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**All right. You may be wondering who Louis is. Or maybe you've already guessed. You shall see. Thanks for reviewing, Lord of the Sloths, Silver Writer 0927, Bloodylilcorpse, PhoenixWillowsRox88 and the guest reviewer.**

Both frogs were up early when they realized the gators had gone. Alejandro was the one who said they should make a raft. "The river goes past the town. It should take us back, and then we can find help."

"Fine," Heather said, her sarcasm dripping from that one word, "But when I come up with an idea that's actually plausible, we do that instead."

Alejandro had resolved not to lose his temper with Heather again, but she was going to make it hard. Much as he hated to lose face, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist baiting her a few times. But, as he reminded himself, now wasn't the time. They had to start getting themselves back to town-

"LOOK OUT!"

Alejandro snapped out of it at Heather's scream. It would have been too late when she saw the alligator coming, but...

"They were right! Talking frogs!"

Neither former human could believe it. The alligator wasn't going straight for them. He was just staring, as if they were the most exotic things he'd ever seen.

"I've never been able to speak to a frog before." the alligator continued. "Most of them can't talk. They just sit there and stare. But I heard you talking."

Heather found her voice. "Most frogs can't talk? Weird. Well, now you've heard us talk, so can you let us go?"

"Heather, don't be so cold." Alejandro reprimanded her, not forgetting to be courteous in the presence of this predator. "Well, you see, we are not regular frogs. We accidentally got mixed up with voodoo spirits, and turned into-"

"Voodoo?" the alligator interrupted. "Like Moonchild Dawn can do?"

"Who?" both frogs asked together.

"Dawn lives on the other side of the bayou. She's a witch doctor." the alligator explained. "Well, it's not just her. She has the magic, but she isn't a communicator. So Leshawna does the communication for her." His voice went all soft when he said the second name. "It's just...I can't talk to them. Humans don't understand me."

Heather's eyes lit up. She had a good idea, and she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. "Well, we're hoping to become human." she said. "Humans can understand us. So..."

The alligator grinned. "You'd talk to them for me? That would be a dream come true! Thing is, I really want to become human for my own reasons."

Alejandro caught on. "We don't know our way around the bayou, though, but you obviously do." he said. "So if you take us there, we'll talk to them for you."

The alligator nodded enthusiastically. Then he grinned. "By the way, I'm Harold."

The two frogs introduced themselves (well, Alejandro introduced both of them). Again, he made it clear that he was a prince, then added "And this is Heather. She's a...waitress." Then he added in a whisper "Just one word of advice, amigo. Do not ever try to kiss her."

Heather overheard, and glared. "Excuse me, but you practically begged me to kiss you! Anyway, I think you're the one with lips that deserve a warning."

"So, shall we go?" Harold asked uneasily. The fire in Heather's eyes made him nervous, even though he could probably send her flying with a flick of his claws or cut her in two with his jaws.

"Yeah, whatever." Heather said, shooting another glare at Alejandro, but letting the subject go.

Harold was the only sincere one of the group. He was genuinely happy to help out the two frogs, and was very friendly to both of them. However, he chatted away about weird, random facts, that annoyed the two frogs.

Alejandro kept his composure. He needed to be sure Harold would get them to the witch doctor, and in that case, he needed to stay on the alligator's good side. He didn't seem like the type to turn on them, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Heather was another story. She made it clear Harold was boring her, by rolling her eyes and sighing frequently. To her credit, she didn't tell him to shut up, but most people would have gotten the message. But Harold was oblivious to her annoyance.

While they travelled, the trio talked about what they wanted to do when they were human. Harold didn't fit in with the other alligators, he explained. He was a smart person, but the other gators pushed him around all the time. He was a joke to them, getting no respect. Among humans, he felt, he'd be able to use his intelligence and his "mad skills" in a few areas to impress people and get the respect he deserved.

Alejandro still hadn't made any clear plans for his future, but he admitted that his plan was to get back his finances, either by working or marrying a rich woman – preferably the latter.

"That was part of the reason I was meant to go to that ball." he admitted. "I was going to see if there was anything between me and the hostess."

"You're a prince." Heather said snarkily. "There's already something. Lindsay's desperate to be a princess."

As for Heather, she admitted "I'm actually planning to do something worthwhile, like take over the world. Okay, so far I'm just trying to set up my own bakery, but once that's running, it'll mean money, and that'll lead to power."

Alejandro snickered quietly at her grandiose plans, but this time, she didn't notice. She was completely focused on one thing – getting back to being a human again.

But for just a moment, she wondered what was going on back home. Who _was_ that man who was with Lindsay at the ball? He'd certainly looked like the picture in the newspaper. And how was Lindsay herself doing? Heather didn't really care about her friend, but she had a feeling, deep down, that she might be important to the solution. She didn't know why she felt that, but her instincts told her that Lindsay would be involved.

 **And so she will be. Sorry the chapters are so short – this isn't an easy adaptation to do. Oh, and let me take this moment to promote "PAINT" or Jon Cozart on YouTube. He's done two Disney parody songs called "After Ever After", showing what happens to Disney princesses after the happy ending, eg: Belle being done for beastiality, Elsa taking over the world to protect it from global warming, Mulan deciding to have a sex change after pretending to be a man...seriously, it's dark, but it's really really funny – my personal favourite is probably the Pocahontas one in the first video, even though it's so sad.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Back to the town! Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, PhoenixWillowsRox88, Alice Queen of Madness, and the guest reviewer.**

 _Why can't I do this alone?_

That was the thought that kept going around and around in Tyler's mind as he sat opposite the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He hated that he had to pretend to be Alejandro in this case. Lindsay wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but Tyler was already falling for her. She was pretty and kind and extremely attentive.

She was also very gullible and unobservant. The blood in the talisman was starting to drain rapidly, but she didn't even seem to notice when Tyler's eyes suddenly went back to brown.

"You know something, Linds?" he said, speaking rapidly in nervousness. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I cannot imagine wanting to spend the rest of my life with anyone else. Would you do me the honour of-"

He was interrupted by a squeal of joy from Lindsay. "Yes! Yes! Of course I will! I love you too! Why don't we marry on my birthday? It's in two days, and so I won't stop being a princess at midnight!"

Luckily, as more of Tyler's disguise faded, Lindsay dashed off to make wedding plans.

"Smooth, dude. Real smooth." Tyler shivered as Mal appeared beside him briefly. "You've got the girl, but how long will you keep her if we don't get that frog's blood?"

"Well, what should I do?" Tyler protested as the last changes on him finally appeared, his hair going back to muddy brown. "I need help."

"Yes." Mal said slowly. "I can see that. I will have to call on my spirits. They should be able to find him. And..." he paused. "They have already told me that they have another soul put into a frog, and I'm pretty sure that he had something to do with it. I think we may need to grab this soul, too, to make sure she doesn't talk. I'll be back this evening."

Tyler breathed a sigh of relief as the voodoo master disappeared. He'd never wanted to get mixed up in voodoo, and Mal scared the crap out of him, but he didn't want to give up on it yet. Lindsay had already touched his heart, and he just wanted to keep the pretence up so he could be near her.

Unluckily for Alejandro and Heather, neither of them knew this. All they did was stress about what they'd do when they got back to normal. And also, they'd been travelling all that day, and Heather was getting annoyed.

"I'm starting to suspect the Geekwad Gator doesn't know where the hell he's going." she muttered to Alejandro.

"This is a _bayou,_ not a stream." Alejandro told her in a condescending tone. "It's probably a long way." He didn't let on that he was thinking along the same lines.

But Heather seemed to know that he was. "Don't give me that! You think the same thing!"

Alejandro gave up and addressed Harold. "Look, it's getting dark. Maybe we should stop for the night?"

"Good idea." Harold said. "I do need to conserve some of my energy so that I will be on top form when I am awake."

While they were trying to settle down for the evening, Harold disappeared to find fish for himself. Heather finally spoke up again. "I am SO hungry. Isn't there any way to get any-" she was cut off when her tongue suddenly shot out of her mouth, reaching for a fly buzzing nearby. She gasped. "No way. No, I am _not_ going to eat bugs."

"To be completely honest, you have a point there." Alejandro admitted. His weak stomach turned at the very thought of eating like a real frog. "I'm not going to-" But their verbal insistence didn't do much to quell their frogs' instinctual reflexes. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, their tongues tangled, and both of them were soon tied in moist pink rope. Or at least, that's what it looked like to the first passer-by.

"Whoa." A firefly stopped, looking down at them. "You two must've gotten pretty carried away." He chuckled. "First date eagerness?"

Heather and Alejandro began to violently protest, but the firefly waved it off. "I was just teasing, guys. Want me to help untie you?" He flew in, and carefully untangled their tongues until they were back to normal.

"Thank you, amigo." Alejandro said in his most composed tones.

"Yeah, thanks." Heather muttered, not looking at either person. She didn't like having to thank people, and that had been an embarrassing moment for her.

"No problem!" said the firefly cheerfully. He had a rather high-pitched, chipper voice, as if he was a young teenager. He drew a name with his light in the sky. "I'm Cody. So, what was up with you guys?"

Heather answered. "It's a long story. To shorten it, we used to be human, and we're trying to get to the local witch doctor so she can turn us back and get on with our lives."

Cody narrowed his eyes, looking uncertain. "Well, you're going in the opposite direction, you know."

"Hey, guys." Harold chose that moment to show up. "So is everything going-"

"Shut up." Heather snapped at him. "According to Cody, you've been taking us the wrong way the whole time."

Harold paused, frowned, then hung his head. "Maybe I took a wrong turn somewhere..." he mumbled.

"Oh well." Cody shrugged. "Why don't I show you the way there? Me and my family and friends? You probably won't have any problem seeing their lights."

"That would be wonderful." Alejandro said, truly feeling grateful towards the firefly.

Cody whistled, and hundreds of tiny lights appeared, swooping in.

"Cody, what did I tell you about that loud whistle?" one of them said in a booming voice.

"Sorry, Dad, but I needed a way to call everyone." Cody said, a sheepish grin on his face. "I've just met a few people who are trying to find Dawn. Guys, you up for it?"

Another firefly swooped down to look at the two frogs. "Cody, you pick up the weirdest friends." he commented. "Don't tell me...you're hitting on girls who can eat you now?"

"Ugh!" Heather exclaimed as a reflex. "Eat a firefly? That's just plain weird."

"Sorry you find us so repulsive." the firefly said sarcastically.

"I think she means eating us." Cody said, trying to smooth things over. "It's a good thing she finds the idea of eating us repungant. It means we can be friends safely."

This time, Heather kept her mouth shut, although she was dying to say something about how, usually, she never would've given someone like Cody a second look. Even if he was human.

The fireflies began to fly in the direction, and Cody beckoned to his new friends. Alejandro and Heather took their places on Harold, and he glided in the right direction obediently.

Heather felt more excited. She finally felt like she was on the way to getting back to normal.

Alejandro glanced over at Heather, making sure she didn't notice. He didn't want to say it out loud, not when he'd already argued with her, but her death glares and rather cutting remarks weren't really annoying him any more. He sort of... _liked_ that she spoke her mind, even if it was in the worst way possible.

 _Maybe I should talk to her more,_ he mused. _If I get bored, I can always let her go. But otherwise..._

 **Ugh. My least favourite thing about Alejandro is that he likes to play so many girls. But whatever, playing with Heather was how their relationship began. As it develops, you'll see him becoming more genuine. And yes, Cody is Ray! Someone suggested him as Louis, but I couldn't do it. And with that, you can probably guess Evangeline's name in this fic...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay. Now this is where the film was probably at its least engaging. Hopefully I can do better with this. Although I am mixing up timelines, since Heather starts preparing before the frog hunters arrive.**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, Alice Queen of Madness and the guest reviewer.**

When it got properly dark, there was only one path left down the bayou, and Cody's family and friends left, while the frogs stopped for the night.

"I think there are mushrooms growing around here." Cody said, now that he knew the frogs' distaste for bugs. "Bye, guys! Oh, and don't tell Sierra I'm hanging out with a couple of frogs – otherwise I know she'll try to 'rescue' me again."

Alejandro's eyes lit up in interest. "Sierra, hmmm? Is she your girlfriend?"

Cody gave a sigh. "No, but she'll tell you she is. I'm holding out for another girl. Gwen – I talk to her every night. She doesn't say much, but..." his face became dreamy. "I think she likes me."

Heather wasn't listening to the conversation, and found the mushrooms quite easily. When Harold accidentally ended up getting a thorn stuck in his scales and Cody tried to pull it out for him, Heather was getting the mushrooms, having to call on all the bounciness in her frog body.

"Hey!" she called to Alejandro, who was watching the scenery silently. "Do you want any of this?"

"Just a little bit, please!" he called back.

Heather gave an exasperated sigh and yelled back "I mean if you want any food, come prepare it! I'm just telling you that I got the mushrooms, so if you want any, get over here!" She began chopping up another one, stunning the other frog.

"How do you do that so fast?" he asked.

Heather smirked at how impressed he appeared. "And you've been teasing me all day about being a waitress." she laughed. "It's not just once that I've had to help out cooking and chopping vegetables. What, haven't you ever done it? Oh, that's right, you're royalty. So you're useless at any life skill."

Alejandro raised his eyebrows at her jab. "I may not be a pro at cooking, but I am certainly not useless." With that, he (more slowly) chopped up one of the mushrooms. He couldn't cut as finely as Heather, nor was he as quick, but he _was_ actually quite good. Much better than Heather had expected.

"Where did you learn that?" she spluttered.

Alejandro just laughed at her shock. "In our family, we don't always have the servants do everything. My brothers and I all learned a fair amount in the area of domestic chores, although we didn't have to do them often."

Heather gave a sigh and muttered under her breath "So that's why you're not concerned about getting a job."

But they weren't aware of the three pairs of eyes watching them.

"Oh, those two look good." muttered a ginger-haired guy. "I can almost taste them."

"Mmmm, frogs..." the chubby man next to him almost drooled. "Let's get them!"

"We have to be quick!" exclaimed the third man, this one clearly all muscle and no brains. "Let's go, Scott!"

"Shh!" hissed the ginger man, Scott. "We don't want them to hear us coming for them."

Unaware of that, Alejandro continued on his conversation with Heather. "You know, I have finally figured out what your problem is."

"Oh?" Heather said sarcastically. "So you finally worked out that you actually have flaws? Cause _you're_ my problem."

Alejandro ignored the insult. "You're terrified of human interaction. That's why you act the way you do when someone actually likes you."

Heather would have denied this if she hadn't been shocked at how accurate the observation was. She was afraid of letting people get close to her. She tried to shrug the comment off with a sound of exasperation, but Alejandro knew he'd hit a nerve, and he smirked. Heather's coldness was fun enough, but seeing her vulnerable was so much better, in its own way.

Finally, the girl spoke up again, having regained her composure. "Well, I figured out your problem in two seconds. You think you're _so_ perfect because you've had everything handed to you and the only girls you've ever met are vapid, dumb girls who think you're perfect just because they're too stupid to think otherwise. I must be the smartest girl you've ever met, not that it probably says that much."

"I've met plenty of smart women!" Alejandro said, his voice still level. "But you're right that you are more observant than many of them. I've never met anyone like you."

Heather ignored him.

"And most of the other ones I met knew how to have fun with other people." he added slyly.

Heather whirled around. "Listen! I have had to work two jobs my whole life, so excuse me if I don't have time for royal parties and flirting with everyone!" She turned away for just a moment.

It was enough time for her not to notice Scott sneaking up and netting Alejandro. At least, his cry of shock made her instantly aware when one of the other men went for her. Her quick reflexes had her slipping out of his grip instantly.

"Sha-damn, these things are FAST!" he exclaimed.

To be fair, their escape was one of the easiest things they were going to face that day. They were caught at different times, but it was Heather who was caught as the men left.

"What happened to your one?" the biggest guy asked as Alejandro had escaped.

"Shut it, Owen!" Scott snapped. "At least we got one!"

Heather was trapped in a box, which the last guy sat on to make sure she couldn't get out.

But Alejandro didn't even stop to think as he used his long tongue to stick to the boat, practically jet-skiing towards the boat, jumping on Owen's head and causing the men to try to catch him again. But of course, that meant they forgot that they had another frog caged, and left the unlocked box so Heather could get out.

Sure, the two might have been tiny green amphibians, but they were smart.

"Those frogs aren't normal." Scott conceded, admitting defeat. "They're smarter than any we've caught before."

Heather smirked, looking at the three bumbling frog-catchers. Then she spoke. "Yeah, we're even smart enough to talk, if you morons try to listen!"

"DEMON FROGS!" Owen screamed, and the men disappeared into the depths of the bayou, presumably just to get away from the scary talking frog.

Alejandro was still laughing when Heather went back to find her mushrooms. He'd already decided that he was interested in Heather, but that little quip had made him like her even more. He'd dated a few girls with that same wit, but never for a long time. As far as he was concerned, concentrating on Heather for a while would be more fun than he'd anticipated. "I think that I may have underestimated you." he said with a smirk.

Heather shrugged, grinning in spite of herself. "I didn't do too badly for some waitress who's terrified of human interaction, did I?" she teased, giving a sigh of relief to find her mushrooms untouched, so she kept preparing them.

Alejandro didn't return to chopping the one he'd started on, just watching Heather. "How do you get that done so fast?" he asked. "My brothers and I could never do it that quickly." Of course, he omitted the fact that one of his brothers was much faster than him (although he still couldn't have sliced as finely and fast as Heather).

"Did you do it almost every day since you were seven?" Heather said simply. "I've been making stews and things for a long time. Baking, too."

Alejandro remembered her saying that she was catering Lindsay's party, and used it as an opening. "You must be good at it." he said softly, in the voice that he used that usually made a girl melt. "I mean, you said you were catering that party, and I know how desperate the host was to make it successful."

Heather, of course, didn't melt. "Lindsay's a friend." she muttered offhandedly. "She usually asks me for those kinds of jobs." She didn't mention that she was being paid half a million, or that Lindsay would probably have asked her even if they weren't friends. To be honest, she wanted to simply accept the compliment, but her pride wouldn't let her. She didn't want to be friendly. Her mind kept reminding her that it was Alejandro's fault she was a frog at that moment.

They didn't talk for the rest of that night.

 **Okay, okay, guys, just a timeline. The "Ma Belle Evangeline" will happen on a different night, giving Heather and Alejandro one extra day to get to know each other before they reach Dawn and Leshawna. Also, Mal's shadow won't catch up for a little while.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Let's continue. Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer (fair point, but he's a huge eater).**

After the escape from the frog hunters and another day of traveling, Heather was less cold towards Alejandro, but she wasn't prepared for him to start properly flirting with her. He didn't say much at first, because he'd thought about what she'd been saying last night. Heather was a lot more prepared than he was to face the real world. Sure, he'd learned a few life skills, but getting a job when there were people like her, who'd worked all their lives and were good at what they did, wouldn't be as easy as he'd thought.

Alejandro had spent his whole life as a sheltered rich kid. If he wasn't happy with anything in his life, all he'd have to do was switch on the charm and things changed. But now that he needed skills...

But his mind still returned to his goal of winning Heather over, still trying to work out what she was worth. But much to his confusion, every time he flirted, it seemed to turn Heather off more than anything.

Underneath, Heather was actually starting to like the young prince, but she refused to show it. The only indication was when she was humming "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato, and he didn't know the song.

"We've got a while before we get to the right place." Cody told his group that evening. "We're going to have to stop for the night again."

"Cool." Harold said placidly. "I could use a few more nights away from the other gators. If I was back there today, I would've been victim of more than one prank."

"Is there anything around here to cook with?" Heather asked.

"Pumpkins." Cody pointed. "And I think there's some bean pods growing around here somewhere..."

Heather smiled genuinely for once. "Right. You all better help me, but once you do, I'll be able to cook up something."

She asked Cody to get the pods, ordered Alejandro to get them cut up, while she scooped out part of the pumpkin and got Harold to set a fire so she could cook what was left of the pumpkin with the beans (and other assorted vegetables she found around the bayou.

"Wow, Heather..." Harold said after a bowl of the vegetarian stew, "This is really good. And that's me saying that – I'm more used to fish, but you're could turn me vegetarian with this."

"It better be. I've been cooking for a long time – if I don't know how to make a good stew by now..." Heather shrugged, pretending to be modest. She was thoroughly enjoying the praise, deep down.

"I'm really impressed." Alejandro told her softly. "You are far more skilled than I suspected."

Ordinarily, Heather would have liked hearing that. But the flirtatious way Alejandro spoke turned her off instantly.

She jumped away from him, tossing her head. "Ugh! I'm pretty sure I told you to stop trying to sweet-talk me. Either be real, or leave me alone."

They were stopped by a cry from Cody, as the sky darkened. "Gwen! You're here! Hi!"

The other three looked up.

"Where is she?" Harold asked.

"Can't you see her?" Cody asked, looking confused. "She's right here!" He drew a heart around a particularly bright star. "See how she lights up the sky?"

Heather and Alejandro both snickered quietly, but they didn't say anything. Harold opened his mouth, but Alejandro jumped up and whispered to him "Just let him believe it."

But although Cody was starting to chat to what he thought was a firefly, but was only a ball of light, the atmosphere felt surprisingly romantic. Heather's words " _Be real, or leave me alone"_ stayed in Alejandro's mind.

" _Well, if that's what she wants, I can do that."_

So for the rest of the night, Alejandro didn't try to flirt with Heather in his usual way. He didn't leave her alone, though. He kept trying to bring her out of her shell, get her to talk.

"You know," he said at one point, "I feel guilty that we both missed Lindsay's party."

"Yeah, so?" Heather said dismissively.

"So," Alejandro said with a tiny smirk, "Maybe we should do something to make up for it." He gently pulled Heather to her feet. Then he bowed. "May I have this dance?"

Heather suddenly looked shy and insecure. "What the...um, I mean, no way!" She tried to play it off, but her anxiety appeared on her face. She could dance, sure, but she was coming scarily close to losing her composure. If she agreed to this, she might well let her emotions flow free completely.

Luckily, Alejandro knew what buttons to push by this time. "What's the matter, Heather?" he said teasingly. "Are you scared that I can dance better than you?"

Heather's eyes became fiery. "Are you kidding? I could overtake you any time!"

"Are you willing to prove it?"

"I don't need to prove it! I know I can dance. Why should I show you?"  
"If you're so good at dancing, why are you afraid of showing me how good you are?"

"Well, I – I mean, I..." Heather stammered. She didn't have an answer for that. She didn't want to explain her feelings. "All right." she gave in. "Just so you believe me, fine, I'll dance with you."

And they did. Alejandro was interested to find that Heather was actually a really good dance partner, as she was just as graceful and meticulous about the steps as he was. She knew when not to lead, and there was a certain look about her. Heather was pretty as a human, but as a frog, she became beautiful when she danced that way.

Harold was standing back, watching. He was starting to notice the chemistry brewing. Cody noticed it, too. They both exchanged glances, but stayed silent. The frogs would need to work it out for themselves.

Little did they know of the voodoo creature who was searching along the bayou. It was looking for both frogs, but it could only follow Alejandro. Mal's "friends" could only tell him that there was another frog now, a female one, but he couldn't give the shadows enough information to find her. He'd figured that they'd be together, and that they would both be dragged back to the city in time.

But luck was on their side. The shadow creature was on Alejandro's trail, but it would take at least eight hours before it could find them. That gave them exactly two more hours to travel after the night was over.

 **Yes, things are still happening the same way. I know Heather is a good dancer, because we saw her ballet skills in TDI, so she's naturally graceful. I hope this chapter was enjoyable, short as it was.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally, we are about to reach the magical characters of this story! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Bloodylilcorpse, PhoenixWillowsRox88 (interesting question – I have my own views and I promise to explain what happened to Mike when Mal took over at some point) and the guest reviewer (I've started writing on that – you had great ideas and I will certainly try to get it done – either that or Frozen will be the next after this).**

The next morning after the dance, Heather and Alejandro didn't act differently around each other, but both felt that something had changed. Heather continued denying it to herself. She did _not_ like him – well, maybe she did, but she didn't want to _date_ him, right?

Alejandro accepted it, deep down. He figured that he could still drop Heather if things didn't work out, but for now, they were, and he was determined to make Heather admit it soon enough. Before he introduced himself to Lindsay.

It was just before noon when it happened. Neither frog noticed the shadow that crept up to them, so slowly that Harold and Cody didn't notice it, either.

Then - "Agh! What the-" Alejandro was suddenly being dragged away by a shadow.

"No!" Heather was barely aware of her cry of protest, but she, Harold and Cody followed the shadow, until-

A sudden glint of gold penetrated the shadow. It instantly dropped Alejandro, and after a few more golden sparkles appeared, it disappeared entirely.

Two people appeared on the scene. One was large, dark and loud. The other was petite, pale and silent. Both were female.

"That's how we roll!" yelled the first girl, holding up her hand to high five the other.

"Shhh." whispered the other. "I'm sensing something. The shadow was here for someone." Her blue eyes fell on the four. "I see! So who was it?"

Harold was too busy staring at the first girl, so Heather spoke up, pointing to Alejandro. "Try him."

The first girl's eyes bugged out. "How the heck...I understood-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Heather said carelessly. "We used to be human, so you understand us. You probably don't understand our company, though." She introduced everyone.

The louder girl shrugged. "Dawn's the one who can understand them. I just help explain things."

"Moonchild Dawn?" Alejandro spoke up. "Then you must be Leshawna, am I correct?" The two women nodded. "A pleasure to meet you. We have been trying to find you."

They all went up to the treehouse together. "So, to cut to the chase-" Heather began.

"Hold up, girl!" Leshawna snapped. "We're not just here for business, you know! We already saved your butts once, so give us a chance. Besides, you probably won't have to tell us. Dawn probably already knows what you're looking for."

Dawn was still standing by, staring intensely at the company, as if she was reading their souls. Finally, she smiled and said in her soft voice "Cody! You haven't visited us for a while. So how is your family?"

"Fine." Cody shrugged. "If it wasn't for Sierra chasing me, things would be pretty much perfect. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. Whenever I try to tell her that I only like her as a friend, she puts her antennae over her ears and pretends she's gone deaf."

Dawn nodded. Her eyes focused on Harold next, who looked very uncomfortable. But Dawn smiled at him too, and said "Oh! I see what's in your aura. It seems you want the same thing as your two friends here, but for entirely different reasons." She turned to her partner. "They all want to be turned human, but I think we need to explain a few things to them."

"Oh?" Leshawna gave the aura-reader a ' _tell me'_ look, and Dawn whispered something to her.

The dark girl turned to the three. "All right. You two first – I can explain it to you without needing a translator." She pointed at the two frogs. "So, can you say what you need?"

"It's just as Dawn explained." Alejandro said. "We've been travelling here to ask you to help us, because we need to become human again."

"Not what I was asking!" Leshawna said firmly. "You told me what you're here for and what you want. That's the problem with everyone. They think what they want is what they need. You have no idea what you need!"

"Isn't that...kind of the same thing at the moment?" Heather asked, giving Leshawna a look of disbelief. She was shocked that they'd come all this way and all they were getting was a lecture.

"No!" Leshawna said. "We'll talk about what ya want once you know what ya need. Listen."

According to Leshawna, it didn't matter what they were. She and Dawn didn't just give people what they wanted. They were trying to do good for the world, and what was good was giving people what they needed, and making them see what they wanted wasn't always what was best.

"Now, you, rich boy," Leshawna said to Alejandro, "You just wanna continue living the high life. We know what you do all the time, and you know what you're actually looking for? A little self-control. You could do it at the royal court, even though you didn't choose to do it when you didn't have to. But you were raised as a gentleman. So why can't you act like one?"

Heather was smirking as she listened to this. Alejandro's usual confident smile was falling off his face as he was told a few home truths.

But that didn't last long as Leshawna turned to her. "Now you, girl. You may not be rich, but you're a hard worker. You still got a problem though. Your heart is harder than your diligence. You just want money and power – you don't remember what's really important in life. Wake up! What do you think makes life good? It's not power!"

Dawn spoke up. "That's enough. What we're asking you both to do is dig deeper. You know what you both want. You can get it...as long as you figure out what you need first."

There was a pause, as both frogs thought.

"Well?" Leshawna said. "You two got any idea what you need?"

"I know what I need!" Heather said forcefully. "It's not all this New Age crap – I just need to work even harder." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I know! You're telling me setting my goals high is not right! I need to concentrate on what I'm good at. My bakery! I need to get that successful and running before anything else!"

Leshawna groaned. "No, no, did you not hear a word I just said?"

Alejandro looked at Heather for a moment. She didn't look back, though. Finally, he looked at Leshawna. "I understand." he said softly. And this time, he was sincere. He understood what Heather hadn't. And for the rest of his time as a frog, he was determined to make her understand it too.

Dawn smiled. "I think it's time we showed you how to become human, then. There's one cure – the kiss of a princess. Just one of you – but it will turn both of you back."

"Um, in case you didn't notice, we don't know any princesses!" Heather snapped. "That's how I got here!"

Leshawna smirked. "Oh, you know a princess. Your friend Lindsay is turning eighteen today, isn't she?"

"Yes...but..." A memory floated into Heather's mind. Lindsay was gushing about her birthday. Her present... "She's princess for a day!"

"That's right!" Leshawna said. "Your man here needs to get her kiss before midnight. She'll be a princess until then."

" _Mierda!"_ Alejandro swore in Spanish, before regaining his composure. "Thank you both. I guess we should be going, then. We need to get back to town quick."

"Wait!" Harold exclaimed. "I know Leshawna can't understand me, but Dawn, you know why I want to become human, don't you? Can't you help me?"

Dawn gave Harold another intense look, and then whispered something to Leshawna that made her blush. "Well..." she began. "It's simple. But...I think we better keep that until after you help our two friends get sorted. You know what you need, and the route towards it is what you want. Later, yeah?"

It's true that in alligator form, Harold was a big help. Long before sunset, he managed to get Heather and Alejandro on a boat that would reach town at around nine. They would have three hours to find Lindsay and find a way to not have her freak out by two frogs talking to her.

While Heather decided to explore a little bit, and Cody followed her, Alejandro hung back, thinking about what Leshawna had said. " _You were raised as a gentleman. So why can't you act like one?"_

Alejandro didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but his usual character was more womanizer than gentleman. He could act like any woman's dream guy, but it was all an act, and he dropped them whenever he got bored. A real gentleman would only flirt with one girl and that girl would be the one he spent his life with.

And then there was what Leshawna had said to Heather, about her heart being harder than her dilligence. Alejandro knew what Leshawna was telling her – it was that she was isolating herself too much by doing nothing but work, work, work. In a way, they balanced each other out.

Well, if Heather couldn't understand that...

 _I don't know if I love her. Yet._ Alejandro admitted to himself. _But there's something different about her, something good. If I had to commit myself to one woman right now, it would be her. I want to conquer her...but I don't think I would let her go after I had._

 **If you caught the implications of why Harold wants to be human, congratulations. If you caught what Leshawna and Dawn were trying to tell Heather, you obviously know this movie well. Let's not forget here that Al's love towards Heather is his number one redeeming quality – and that means his personal journey is almost complete. Heather still has a way to go.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Let's go back to the town for a minute, then we'll go back to the boat. And just a reminder – the reason Mal has seen a certain horror series from the 80s is because this is set in this century. And sorry this took so long..the next one won't take such a long time.**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927 (how do you review so fast – don't know which one will be out next yet, though), Snowfur2022, Bloodylilcorpse and the guest reviewer. Thanks to the two reviewers who requested things. Sorry, but I'm NOT going to do Cinderella, and I might do Tangled, but probably not. What I really want to do is a Zoke story...**

Mal knew he was in trouble with the spirits. If he didn't find Alejandro soon and make sure Tyler married Lindsay, he'd pay the major price. He'd paid a lot to get hold of Mike's existence and the power of the voodoo spirits. But if the _Nightmare on Elm Street_ movies taught him nothing else – and they didn't – it was that the spirits could take away power as fast as they gave it. If they weren't fed, they wouldn't give.

Tyler was, at that moment, hiding out in his room in the mansion. He was lucky it was traditional not to see the groom the night before the wedding, since he didn't look the part one bit for the moment. He just hoped he'd find Alejandro soon. He didn't want to have to lie to Lindsay any more, but he wanted to tell her the truth and let Mal have what he wanted before revealing his true identity to her. Otherwise, he knew, she wouldn't understand him. At least it would be easier for her to remember his real name. She couldn't seem to remember "Alejandro" at all.

As for the real Alejandro? Well, he had a truth to tell, as well, to a different girl. He had decided not to be entirely honest with Heather yet. She wasn't ready to hear that. But he was going to tell her that he liked her, that he had enjoyed being around her, and that even after this was over, he wanted to carry on getting to know her, even if he ended up getting stuck marrying Lindsay. There was always divorce, even then, right?

Gwen was already shining in the sky, although it was still half past seven, and light. There was only an hour and a half to go until the boat reached the town.

Alejandro looked up at the sky. "At least it's simple for you." he muttered out loud. "Cody loves you, and you don't have to go through any awkward confession. Like I'm going to have to."

He had already planned a romantic date-type dinner for himself and Heather in half an hour, where he was going to tell her that – he'd even snagged some scraps from the buffet for it. But being sincere was a whole new thing for him, and he knew it was going to be awkward, no matter what he did.

"Al? Buddy?" Cody flew down. The frog's eye twitched at the hated name, but turned politely to speak to the firefly.

"So what were you talking to Gwen about?" Cody asked, a tinge of suspicion to his voice, although he still kept his expression friendly.

Alejandro gave a sigh. He didn't want to go into this with Cody, but he knew that if he didn't explain, Cody would jump to the wrong conclusion. "I want to tell Heather that I care more about her than I'd let on – that I want to spend more time with her. I can't just go and get married to Lindsay for her money – I never got the chance to get to know her. I feel more for Heather than I've ever felt for anyone before."

Cody stopped acting at all suspicious. He smiled. "That's sweet. So...shall I tell her to-"

"Don't tell her anything!" Alejandro said firmly, forgetting his courteousness momentarily. "I've already asked her to meet me somewhere and I'll tell her there."

Cody shrugged. "All right. I'll stay out of it. Good luck, man."

Luck seemed to be on Alejandro's side that night. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but Heather seemed...softer than usual. She didn't make any sarcastic or cutting comments that night. She wasn't particularly nice, either, but she smiled when he first showed her what he'd set up, and talked civilly.

The part of the evening when her eyes lit up was when they were about fifteen minutes from the dock. "See over there?" She pointed to that building she'd bought. "That's where I was going to start my career. Remember you promised me money you haven't got that night? That's why I did it. If I don't get it in by midnight tomorrow..." she sighed, her face falling. "I'll lose it."

Alejandro didn't reply for a moment. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to say. When he did speak, it was completely unrehearsed in his mind, but completely true. "Heather...I know I said I didn't want to follow through on that promise. But...you know, I love the way you light up when you talk about it. When we get back to normal, will you give me the chance to help you reach your dream?"

Heather laughed bitterly. "That's not my actual dream, you know. It's just a stepping stone. My real dream was to become a millionaire. Or rule Europe – but I know that's not going to happen." She managed a small smile, and said softly "But thanks."

Alejandro would have said something else to her, but he didn't get the chance. After she said that, her face flushed a darker green, and she mumbled something and hopped away faster than any natural frog.

And as if fate had decided to deliver Alejandro's karma for years of easy living all in one go, something much worse happened to him before he could find her. By the time the boat docked, Harold was lurking in the shadows so no one would see him and try to have him killed, but he was ready to clear the way and protect his friends if he needed to. Cody flew alongside Heather.

But Alejandro? He was gripped by Mal's shadow spirits, in a room where the voodoo master and his former servant stood. One more pinch from the talisman and again, Tyler's disguise was back on.

"Why are you doing this?" the prince asked finally as Mal trapped him in a jar.

Tyler's confident look dropped for a moment, and he confided it in a whisper. Alejandro could hear him, but Mal couldn't. "I don't want to, not really. But it's the only way that I can get Lindsay to marry me. I love her too much. I'm not letting you have the one thing that I've wanted more than anything else. I've always envied you. I figure it's my turn. And honestly, if this frog thing is what's happened to you, what do you think will happen to me if I don't follow through on the plan?"

Alejandro had known Tyler had been jealous of him, but not to this degree. And if it had been a few days earlier, he would have brushed the klutz's words aside. But he didn't want Lindsay, and even if he did, he was, at that moment, at Tyler's mercy.

"Two minutes until you need to be out there." Mal reminded Tyler, before leaving. "I'm going to have to seek out that _other_ frog, since my shadows tell me he was alone."

"Tyler, please listen to me before you go out there!" Alejandro pleaded. "You can have Lindsay, I don't care, but you have to let me talk to her before midnight! If she doesn't kiss me before then, I'm going to be a frog for the rest of my life – after that, I don't care, you can have her, but I'm not the only one who's stuck like this!"

Tyler stared into the prince's eyes (though they weren't exactly as persuasive as usual). "Why do you care about someone else?" he challenged.

"I don't know!" Alejandro was getting frustrated. "But she told me she's Lindsay's best friend – she was supposed to be catering at that party on the first night. Can't you just shorten the reception so you and Lindsay can leave before midnight and and then you can ask her to kiss me as a favour? Please?"

Tyler faintly remembered Lindsay excusing herself to help a girl who'd just stained her dress with baked goods. And now he remembered, she'd never come down after Lindsay had. He wasn't sure what to believe, but it _sounded_ believable.

"I'll see what I can do." he said finally. "Can't make any promises. I'll take the jar out with me, so you can try to get out without my help. How's that?"

There was a knock on the door at that moment. "Wedding time!" called out a female voice. "I know I'm not allowed to see you yet, but in five minutes..."

Tyler started to look nervous, but he called out "I'll be there!" He took a deep breath, picked up the jar Alejandro was in, and opened the door just as Lindsay was running back to her position.

 **See? Tyler's not evil – he's just desperate to be with Lindsay and scared of Mal. I haven't written much of Tyler before – he's not the most interesting for me (although I know a lot of people love him and he deserves another chance to win), but I've quite enjoyed writing him in Laurence's shoes, although he's a lot more sympathetic.**


	11. Chapter 11

**We better get back to Heather and the sidekicks. Thanks to the guest reviewers and Bloodylilcorpse...I probably won't do Lion King, though...the most likely ones to come up right now are "Sleeping Beauty", "Hercules" and "Frozen".**

Heather was still thinking about her bakery and all her plans when she got off the boat. Still, she was overjoyed to be back in familiar territory, although it was a lot harder to navigate as a frog than it was as a human.

"So," Cody said, "Did he own up? What did you say?"

Heather looked up at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"The date on the boat, of course!" Cody said. "Don't tell me nothing happened!"

Heather scowled. "What do you mean, that was a date? We just hung out on the railing for a minute."

Cody gave a sigh. "Okay, I promised I wouldn't tell you, but if he didn't...he was trying to tell you that he's totally fallen for you."

This new information sent a jolt of electricity through Heather. And to her shock, she realized that it was...joy. The idea that Alejandro was actually into her felt surprisingly...right, somehow. She wondered for a moment if she felt the same way and just hadn't realized it. But now that she knew he felt that way about her, she didn't feel as if she wanted to deny it any more. Not to herself, not to him, not to the world – if this was all true, then she had to do one more thing.  
"I need to find him." she thought out loud. "If he wants the chance to tell me, I'll give it. Then it's up to him to take it."

How was she to know that the man she saw Lindsay clinging to at the outdoor altar wasn't the real thing? She only caught a glimpse of him, but she recognized the man she'd seen in the newspaper.

Cody saw it too. "There's something wrong with this picture." he said doubtfully. "He said he wasn't going to get married to her. That's what he told me. And besides, you would be human by now. That's what Dawn said."

Heather shrugged, trying to make like she didn't care. "She was wrong, I guess. And he's lied to me before. To be honest, I'm not even shocked. Whatever, I don't care." She was lying, of course. She cared immensely, but she covered it up. Only when she'd made it a street away from the commotion alone did she let her face display her true feelings.

But Cody wasn't giving up. He couldn't talk to humans like the frogs could, but he flew up to check things out. That's how he caught sight of the talisman Tyler was wearing, and spotted the vibrating jar. So he went to check it out.

"Al?" he exclaimed. "What happened?"

"The man marrying Lindsay right now is an imposter!" Alejandro said, so desperate to escape that he didn't even notice Cody calling him by the name he despised. "The shadow spirits got me – the voodoo master is having him pretend to be me so he can take control. He's wearing a kind of necklace to impersonate me. I need to get out of here!"

Cody surveyed the situation, his logical smarts coming into play. "We need to get the jar to crash onto the pavement." he said thoughtfully. "You need to try to topple the jar, while I push, and it should break. I'm not sure if the weight of both of us will be enough, but it's our only hope."

And...well, it worked. Tyler heard the jar break, but ignored it. Once he'd said his vows, he could go and find the frog prince and explain things to Lindsay.

Cody had one more thing to do. "I'll get that necklace thing the imposter is wearing!" he said. "You need to go and find Heather. She assumed that was you and went off – I think it was that way!" He pointed in the direction he'd seen Heather go to, and then zoomed towards Tyler.

The vows weren't quite finished. Lindsay had said hers, but Tyler hadn't, and as he began to, he was interrupted by a little ball of light suddenly tugging at the charm around his neck.

Unluckily for Cody, Mal was standing in the shadows, watching to make sure everything worked out, and he saw the firefly's attempts to get the talisman

"Stop him." he whispered to his shadow, and it went through.

But not fast enough.

Cody didn't manage to smash the talisman, but he broke the chain around Tyler's neck. Instantly, Tyler's true face was revealed. He became the same sweet-faced clumsy guy with brown eyes and lack of muscles that he'd always been.

There were gasps of shock all around, but Lindsay was the only one who reacted differently. There was no way she could be oblivous this time, though. "What happened to you?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I..." Tyler began, trying desperately to think of a good explanation. But there was nothing he could think of. "I...I'm not the person you thought I was." he finally admitted. "I do love you, from the depths of my heart. That was all true. But I'm not a prince – I was just his servant. My real name is Tyler. And this is what I really look like. I can explain it all, but..." He looked ashamed. "I guess you won't want me now. I'm sorry, I'll go now-"

But he was pulled back. Lindsay was still looking shocked, but she didn't look angry, like he thought she would. "Of course I want to marry you!" she insisted. "You can't leave me at the altar like this! Even if you aren't a prince, you're still _really_ cute. And you like me, don't you?"

Tyler stared at her. She still wanted to be with him, after all this? "Of course I like you. More than like you." he said finally. "And if you'll still have me..."

And with that, they kissed, their marriage complete. But after they pulled back, Tyler said "There's one more thing. I need you to do one thing for a friend...at least, if I can find him..."

Mal had long left, trying to get the talisman back before anything happened to it. The shadows hadn't worked, because of Cody's bright light. He flew through them like they weren't even there. And the firefly knew had to make it out of there before anything else, but he knew a little bit about voodoo. If that talisman was broken, it would mean major trouble for the voodoo master. And from what he'd been told, he would have to break it.

But he didn't have time now. He heard footsteps following him, and this time, it wasn't the shadows.

 **I know this seems rushed. I'm trying to finish the movie and I'm having major writer's block. Please bear with me, I will get it done.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, okay, this is a major part. And yet I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with Cody! Well, I guess you'll know what I decided on by the end of this chapter.**

 **Thanks for reviewing, Bloodylilcorpse, EmEm811 and the guest reviewer.**

Alejandro seemed to have completely disappeared for the moment, but Cody managed to find Heather.

"Mistake..." he said breathlessly, "Imposter...disguise...voodoo..." Eventually, he just thrust the talisman into Heather's webbed hands. "Here. Smash it – it's the voodoo master's power, but he's following me, so I better-" He zipped away before finishing his sentence, soaring away before Heather could even collect her thoughts.

But despite Cody's babble, she started to understand what she'd seen. "So this necklace thing was a voodoo disguise?" she mused out loud. "Then that must mean..." If a shadow hadn't fallen over her at that very moment, she would have let her romantic side take over.

But she wasn't so lucky as to have a few minutes to herself. Mal may have lost the firefly messing up his plans, but he'd found the second frog.

Heather had never seen Mal before, but she would have known him just from the shadows that followed in his wake. She held up the talisman threateningly. "Stay back!" she said. "I'll break this thing in two seconds if you don't!"

But Mal still had a few voodoo tricks. The shadow spirits, now that they saw Heather, knew a lot of information. They whispered to Mal her name, her dream, her past...and with a puff of pink smoke, a girl with long dark hair stood in place of the frog.

The alley was replaced, too, by a warm, golden, luxurious place. A place that Heather recognized, despite never seeing it. It was a mansion – the one she'd seen in every daydream she'd had. She recognized every part of her dream – queen of Europe, respected and powerful. Even her clothes, though a casual crop halter and skirt, were designer. She even had a tiara, twinkling with rubies.

But as Heather looked at her surroundings in wonder, she felt as if something was off. Something was missing. She wasn't sure what it was.

"Now...isn't this better than stuck living in a bayou dodging alligators and almost dying every day?" The demonic voice came out of nowhere. Heather jumped as Mal appeared seemingly out of thin air. He'd disappeared with her old surroundings, but now he was standing right next to her.

" _You."_ Heather's grey eyes narrowed.

"Just look at this place," the voodoo master continued, a mocking tone to his voice, "It's pretty amazing. Your dreams reach further than anyone else's, Heather. And you know what? I could make this a reality for you. All you have to do, is hand over that talisman."

Heather didn't relent. "No way. How do I know you're not going to screw me over when I give it back?"

"Oh, you don't." Mal said. "But I can be very persuasive. Just think of all those people who doubted you. Everyone trying to knock you down, every time a window opened, another door slammed shut. Too bad nothing ever came of your hard work. But now, something could."

It was true. Every second, handing over the talisman sounded better and better to Heather. Mal could tell she was weakening. "Come on, Heather." he whispered. "Isn't this what you want?"

"I would never manage to get what I wanted on my own." Heather murmured. But a thought came to her. "But it's not what I need. I didn't understand it before."

In a flash, she understood what Leshawna and Dawn had tried to tell her. She knew what she wanted...and now she realized what she needed.

"I needed someone to genuinely want me." she said out loud. "That's what's important. I'm not going to lose sight of that ever again!"

She went to smash the talisman, but luck still wasn't on her side. The second she let go, his shadow got it and gave it back to Mal. The mansion melted away, and Heather was back in her frog skin.

"You should have taken what you wanted while you had the chance." Mal said mockingly. "Now you're going to spend your whole life just the way I described." He was leaning close to her. Too close.

At least, in the frog's opinion. "You forgot one little thing." she said softly. Her long tongue shot out, stuck to the talisman chain, and it was back in her possession. And this time, she was so close to the ground that the shadow didn't have a chance. She smashed it.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" An almost inhuman wail came from Mal. The shadows were turning on him. Something had happened, and the shadows took hold of the creature. Something was being pulled out of Mal, as if he'd had something in him that the talisman had been holding.

The alleyway was glowing purple as the shadows pulled an apparition out of the voodoo master. A screaming apparition, who begged "Just one more chance!" But the shadows took no notice.

"No! NO!" the apparition shrieked. "It's MY time!" But as the shadows disappeared, pulling the apparition with them, Heather looked back at the figure left there, still standing.

Slowly, the man raised his head. "Uggghhh...I feel like I just killed something." groaned the person. He was talking in a different voice. Suddenly, he jumped, his eyes wide. The dark circles around his eyes were gone. "Mal!" he exclaimed. "He left!"

"Well, to be fair, the shadows dragged him away." Heather couldn't resist quipping. "So what are you really?"

The young man shrugged. "Just an average person, I suppose. My name's Mike. I know what you just saw – I saw everything that happened. And I'm sorry. But I don't have the voodoo powers to turn you back. Those all belonged to Mal."

At that moment, Heather remembered what was going on. "Alejandro! I have to find Lindsay and get her to listen to me, and then I need to find him!"

She almost flew out of there, going as fast as her webbed feet could carry her. Mike looked after her for a moment, as if he was making sure she was really gone. Then he let himself cry.

 **Yes, Mal was Mike the whole time! He just had no control. The reason he starts crying here is because he's thinking of the many people Mal made him scam, and the time that he's lost since he took control. Mal isn't an alternate personality here – he's just an evil spirit that somehow possessed Mike. What do you think?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, we're nearing the end. Finally! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Alice Queen Of Madness (very true, but the whole point of this story is that she realizes that's not what's important), Bloodylilcorpse (My real argument is that her canon self didn't have any indication that it was a good idea to refuse, whereas the lecture she got earlier is starting to affect her subconsciously) and the guest reviewer.**

Back at the wedding, the crowd had dissapated. It was five minutes to midnight, and Tyler had finished telling Lindsay the story of what had happened.

The blonde was still having trouble getting it. "So if I kiss a frog, he'll turn into the prince?" she said slowly.

"Not just any frog." Tyler told her. "But he's escaped from the jar I left him in, so you better find him if you want him to become human. And he said your best friend – was that the dark-haired girl I saw you with on the first night? - is a frog too!"

As if by magic, a voice sounded below the blonde, just on the ground. "Lindsay! First, don't freak when you see me. Second, we have to get this done, like, fast."

"Heather?" Lindsay couldn't see her best friend, but she would know that voice anywhere.

The impatient voice gave a sigh. "Didn't you hear what the guy said? I'm a frog at this moment! I'm standing right next to you. Look down."

Lindsay managed not to get too scared when she realized the frog she saw was Heather, but she still didn't understand. "Okay, I'm so confused."

"What a shocker." Heather muttered under her breath, and then said more loudly "Look, it's very simple. We need to find that idiot who obviously ran off for some reason and you need to kiss him before midnight. As a favour to me? Please?"

Lindsay smiled, understanding. "Ohhhh...he's the frog prince! I get it. His cure is to kiss a princess. And I'm a princess for a few more minutes."

All three of them were ready to search the whole town to find Alejandro. But he found Lindsay first. By the time Tyler and Heather caught up, he was explaining things to her all over again.

And suddenly, Heather couldn't stand it. "Wait!" she called out.

She reached Alejandro and said in a rush "I have to say something to you. Before this."

"Can't it wait?" Alejandro said. "We have one minute left."

"I know, but I'll never say it if I can't say it now!" Heather insisted. "I realized what Leshawna and Dawn meant. It was nothing to do with that bakery. What I really needed..." she gulped, scared to even say it. But she managed it. "It's you. I don't know why, but something happened through these last few days. And now...I can't..." she flinched. "I can't say it."

Alejandro understood though. "May I say it?" he said softly. "I think...no, I _know,_ that I'm in love with you."

And at that minute, the clock chimed midnight.

"Oh no!" Heather exclaimed first. "Maybe that clock's fast. Lindsay, _quick_!"

But it was too late. Midnight had come, and Lindsay was no longer a princess. She was getting her happily-ever-after with Tyler, but she felt bad. She'd been their only chance, and it was gone.

But, as it was, things were able to change. Just because Heather and Alejandro would be frogs forever didn't change things. They decided that since they couldn't have a real marriage, they might as well have a ceremony at the bayou. Cody and all his many family members came. They even got to meet Sierra, a firefly whose light kept spluttering and fizzling like a firework and wouldn't let go of Cody the whole time. Harold came, too. He was still an alligator for the moment.

Since it was in the bayou, Dawn and Leshawna both showed up, happy to see that while the two frogs hadn't become human, they'd both learned their lessons.

Dawn, quiet as she was, offered to perform the ceremony since she could understand all of the other guests. "By the power of love, this union is officially legal. You may kiss the bride." she said softly.

At that moment, Heather and Alejandro gazed deep into each other's eyes, then they both leaned forward, and exchanged their second kiss.

The moment seemed to go on forever. The bayou lit up as light swirled around, engulfing the two. When the light finally cleared, it was no longer two frogs that stood there.

Both people noticed at the same time. Alejandro saw a slim, dark-haired girl in a slim-fitting light green halter dress. Heather saw an incredibly buff, incredibly handsome guy with green eyes deep enough to drown in.

They both gasped, looking at each other and the clothes that seemed to have come with the transformation. And they both realized, with another shock, that that kiss had not only been magical – but the best kiss they'd ever experienced.

Leshawna laughed at their shock. "We told you," she said, "The only way to break the spell was to kiss a princess!"

There was a pause. "If that was a real marriage..." Alejandro said slowly, "Then that means..."

"I'm a princess now." Heather's expression at that moment was one that few people had seen before – her true smile. She barely ever looked like that, so happy. "I guess we didn't need Lindsay."

"So..." Alejandro said, "What say we go back to the town and get everything sorted?

But things were different now. Heather didn't want the place she'd tried to get before this whole fiasco had begun. They ended up getting a human marriage rather quickly, but this one was much grander than their bayou one.

Heather may not have sought out what she wanted. But she had almost the same thing. Now, she may still have had to work, but she was now Princess of Spain.

And that was enough for her.

 _PS: Harold did eventually find a way to turn human. It turned out all he'd wanted was to court Leshawna and be appreciated for his true talents. Needless to say, the skinny bespectacled awkward guy he became wasn't exactly princely material, but his devotion was true blue._

 _Lindsay got her fairytale ending. Tyler may not have been the prince she was waiting for, but he was gentle, sweet and loyal. Young as she was, she knew that they would truly live happily ever after._

 _Cody, being a firefly, didn't live for very long. But when he died, a star appeared in the sky, right next to Gwen._

 _Mike had to give up his voodoo business, since his powers had gone with Mal's control. He ended up becoming an actor, and ended up falling in love with a lonely indie filmmaker._

 _And as for Heather? Well, being a princess, especially one married to the youngest prince, wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but she was still happy. Happier than most would expect. And she was happier than she would have ever expected. Alejandro was possibly even happier than her, finding it surprisingly easy to break his habit of flirting with every pretty girl who passed._

And so, in this universe, at least, everyone had a happy ending. What can you say? As Heather once said, years later, "I guess some dreams _do_ come true...and all you have to do is rely on magic."

 **And that's the end! I don't think this is my best work, but I'm glad people seem to like it. Don't know when my next one will be out, but I'm working on it. Thanks for your support, everyone!**

 **And please check out my other fic "No More Bailing"! I have one loyal reviewer of the story, but so far, no one else.**


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